los angeles and earned his degree at northridge and usc before starting his own law career. >> no arguing now between you two. "nightly news" is next. >> we'll see you again at 6:00. tonight, the northeast digging out from the blizzard of 2022 more than two and a half feet of snow in some areas houses today completely frozen. streets that were flooded by the storm turning to ice tens of thousands without power, just as temperatures plummet, and record lows go as far south as florida, where frozen iguanas are falling from trees. >> he fell right out of the tree. and now he's trying to warm up. a steep decline in covid nationwide, dropping by nearly half in some major cities this past week alone. the former cdc director saying it's the most optimistic he's felt in years

>> i do think that we're heading into a much better time the supreme court's short list getting longer the white house said to be considering more than a dozen women for the highest court as former president trump suggests he'll pardon the january 6th defendants if he's re-elected spotify's ceo speaking out how the company plans to combat covid misinformation amid growing pressure from the stars it works with to pull joe rogan off the platform. dr. johnny fever signs off. we remember the actor, howard hesseman from "wkrp in cincinnati. and rafael nadal breaks an all-time grand slam record in a comeback victory for the ages >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with kate snow good evening it is a frozen landscape across nine states tonight at least a foot of snow fell from maryland to maine. just look at what they woke up to this morning in brant rock,

massachusetts, south of boston. those ice-encrusted homes after blowing snow and winds over 50 miles an hour. the biggest snow total this weekend was also in massachusetts more than 30 inches in stoughton, almost that much on new york's long island and parts of the jersey shore. at least four people were killed by this storm. up and down the east coast, frigid temperatures, 10 to 15 degrees below average. even parts of florida were below freezing. kathy park starts us off from boston. >> reporter: tonight millions in the northeast digging out from a dangerous blast of winter weather. blizzard conditions stretch from the mid-atlantic to maine and buried parts of massachusetts with more than two feet of snow. >> it's pretty bad it's not too heavy but it's a lot. >> reporter: boston tying a record for the highest snow total in one day, with 23.6 inches powerful winds and high waves flooded coastal towns,

knocking out power and heat to tens of thousands. just as temperatures dropped 10 to 20 degrees below average, this was nantucket saturday, under water. and today -- >> this is jason with nantucket current. most of those floodwaters have receded from the street there's still some that are iced over and flooded. >> reporter: and after a beating from giant waves, a layer of ice coated these homes along the shore. the snow didn't let up in new york, paralyzing travel. tractor-trailers overturned long islands hit especially hard. officials confirming an elderly man died after falling into an icy pool as he was shoveling snow as the arctic air settles in, the sunshine state is shivering, too this morning tallahassee reached just 19 degrees. the first time in a decade as floridians are trying to warm up with extra layers and with lows in the 20s, a rare sight for

locals, frozen iguanas. >> he fell right out of the tree, and now he's trying to warm up. >> reporter: luckily, warmer temperatures are on the way and the reptiles will spring back to life. >> kathy joins us live from boston now. how's the cleanup going up there >> reporter: well, kate, as you can see, a lot of the roads here in boston are clear and passable but by tomorrow morning some drivers may have a tough time getting to their buried cars. with temperatures plunging into the single digits overnight, a lot of the snow might freeze over. >> kathy, i can hear the cold in your mouth. thank you so much. now to some encouraging and perhaps very encouraging news about covid. nationwide cases are dropping, down by a third in the past two weeks. and look at this, in two of the cities hit first by omicron, new york city and washington, d.c., you can see how quickly the numbers spiked and how quickly they dropped in the past few weeks. and that is making a huge difference for some hospitals that were, up until very recently, overwhelmed. blayne alexander has more

>> reporter: at the cleveland clinic icu, the load was crushing. as one bed emptied, there was another patient right there to fill it. the national guard and air force called in to help now a different story. across cleveland clinic's ohio hospitals, the number of covid patients has dropped from 1,200 to 393 in less than a month. >> it's a significant relief right now. >> reporter: starting next week, elective procedures are back. the national guard has moved out. >> overall, doctor, do you think the worst is now behind you >> i think so. i hope so. i hope we don't see another variant. so we'll remain optimistic. >> reporter: it's a reflection of the encouraging numbers nationwide a drop in new cases and hospitalizations down nearly 14%. but deaths, which lag behind, continue to rise in some places, with 31 states seeing an increase over the past 14 days >> the numbers tell us that we are likely looking at the rear-view of the worst part of the surge.

still to be determined is do we see another rebound with an increase in cases? >> reporter: it comes as some places are dropping masks and restrictions in denver, the city's indoor mask mandate is set to expire this week and in orange county, florida, the nation's ninth largest school district says starting this week, covid concerns can no longer be used as an excuse for missing school tonight experts are still cautious, but encouraged >> i'm more optimistic today than i have been at any point since the pandemic emerged we have better tools, better defenses, better information, and better ability to make sure that covid doesn't dominate our lives. we have the best chance to get and keep the upper hand against this virus. >> blayne joins us now from the cdc there is this good news overall but some parts of the country still seeing cases rise. >> reporter: yeah, kate, that's right in fact 20 states have seen some sort of an

increase over the past 14 days, mostly states out west, with montana being the highest at an 86% increase. kate. >> blayne alexander, thank you. the list of possible contenders for president biden's supreme court pick is growing longer the president has vowed to choose a black woman to fill justice stephen breyer's seat. today, at least one republican signalled support for one judge in contention. josh lederman is at the white house. >> reporter: tonight, the supreme court guessing game in high gear who will president biden pick to fulfill his historic pledge. >> it's long overdue in my view. >> reporter: and will any republicans back her. one republican opening the door to getting his vote, lavishing praise on one of the president's candidates. >> i can't think of a better person for president biden to consider for the supreme court than michelle childs. >> reporter: she's a federal judge in south carolina, already nominated for the d.c. appeals court. but mr. biden is casting a wide net a source telling nbc news tonight his list of candidates has grown to more than a dozen. democrats looking to

move quickly, but not so quickly that republicans can say it was rushed. >> it's going to be fair, it's going to be deliberate. >> reporter: but a new abc news/ipsos poll finds three in four americans want the president to consider all options, not just black women. some republicans now questioning mr. biden's race and gender litmus test. >> it adds to the further perception that the court is a political institution. >> reporter: collins and graham among three republicans who voted previously for another candidate on mr. biden's list, judge ketanji brown jackson, confirmed last year to the d.c. circuit those republicans now the focus of democrats' hopes that the vote to confirm the court's first black woman will be bipartisan. >> i don't see michelle childs as an act of affirmative action i do see putting a black woman on the court making the court more like america. >> and josh is with us so former president trump held a rally in texas last night and he made some news there. >> reporter: that's right. he told supporters

that if he runs for president again and wins, mr. trump might give pardons to those who were criminally charged in the january 6th attack the former president insisting that the protesters are being treated unfairly kate. >> thank you, josh we have some breaking news about the audio streaming service spotify. late today the company's ceo spoke out about how they will address covid's misinformation on their platform spotify is under fire for hosting the controversial joe rogan podcast. some major stars even pulling their music. >> reporter: tonight the pressure building on spotify their ceo now speaking out. it is important to me that we don't take on the position of being content censor while also making sure there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them for days now music artists have been ramping up pressure, accusing the technology giant of giving a large platform to joe rogan who often has guests on his podcast who question accepted

covid science. >> rogan has gotten in trouble many, many times before and they tend to blow over. >> reporter: music legend neil young protesting the podcast and asking for his music to be pulled from spotify joni mitchell threatening to do the same today prince harry and meghan markle joining the list of celebrities calling on spotify to address covid misinformation the couple has an exclusive multi-year podcast deal with the company. spotify says they are working in part to add content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about covid-19 in addition to an information hub with verified data-driven facts about the virus. >> they're trying to walk this very fine line where it wants to communicate that it's taking misinformation seriously and that it's going to create a platform that is safe for people, but it's not going to punish its biggest star. >> reporter: spotify now waiting to see if the actions taken will be enough.

still ahead tonight, the extreme measures in beijing to keep the olympic games safe during covid. workers in hazmat suits, even robot waiters. and rafael nadal makes history. what the tennis star did that no man has done before.

we are just five days away from the start of the winter olympics and tonight we are getting a closer look at the extreme covid precautions put in place. we're talking about workers in hazmat suits and robot waiters.

yes, robot waiters raf sanchez reports. >> reporter: with the olympics just days away, athletes arriving in beijing under the shadow of covid. at least 39 competitors and team officials now testing positive among them, polish skating star and medal hopeful natalia. while some team usa athletes reach beijing this weekend, others hit with covid before even leaving the states josh williamson announcing he tested positive on instagram, writing this has not been an easy pill to swallow. the u.s. olympic committee says it's still very hopeful that the entire team will be healthy and able to compete in beijing. >> i think the single most important thing to remember as we go to the games is that you must control what you can, and then disregard what you cannot >> beijing on high alert ahead of the games under a strict zero covid policy. overnight locking down several residential neighborhoods after

two more cases were detected athletes and journalists alike subjected to intense testing on arrival, as nbc's steve patterson found out. >> we're going to need to get through this. immediately you see some of the hazmat suits up there. >> reporter: a ghostly welcome to these strangest of games inside the closed loop of the olympic village, a look at some high-tech additions. cafeteria workers are out and robot cooks and servers are in so don't expect any long chats with the bartender as he mixes your martini and in a first for a winter games, almost all the snow is manmade, raising questions about safety and the environmental impact an unprecedented olympics, for an unprecedented time raf sanchez, nbc news. history was made today on the tennis court. rafael nadal has now won more grand slam championships than any other male player. and he got his win today in the most thrilling way possible catie beck has details.

>> reporter: rafael nadal claims victory and makes tennis history. his signature celebrations on the court, after an epic come-from-behind win at the australian open against u.s. open champion, daniil medvedev the 35-year-old spaniard rallied back to win his 21st grand slam title, surpassing roger federer and novak djokovic to become the most decorated men's tennis player of all time >> having this trophy with me, you don't know how much it means to be here >> reporter: the fight meant overcoming a painful recovery, from a major foot surgery just two months ago. >> this was a legacy match for rafael nadal. and i don't say that lightly, because he is legendary already. when you consider the fact that he was on crutches a couple months ago. >> reporter: notably absent from the australian open was top-seeded novak djokovic, deported earlier this month

over his unvaccinated status today he applauded nadal for his achievement tweeting always impressive fighting spirit that prevailed another time nadal delivering another gritty, heartfelt performance, lasting five sets and five hours. >> going to have a chance to keep going now, keep fighting and keep enjoying the beautiful sport that's made me happy. >> reporter: his latest chapter not likely his last. catie beck, nbc news up next, the controversial new effort to hold police officers accountable, even after cases have already been closed. and remembering tv's coolest deejay, sitcom legend howard hesseman ♪ i'm living on the air in cincinnati ♪ ♪ cincinnati wkrp ♪

tonight we're remembering the tv star who brought radio to life. >> you've got johnny, dr. johnny fever, and i am burning up in here >> actor howard hesseman has died. the emmy award nominee played the wild deejay on the hit show "wkrp in cincinnati" from 1978 to 1982 he later starred in "head of the class" and played many roles in movies. hesseman was 81 years old. now to a controversial new effort to hole polic accountable for past misconduct, including deadly use of force. in some cases previous prosecutors decided not to pursue charges, but a new crop of prosecutors are essentially reopening the cases. ron allen reports, and a warning, some of the video may be disturbing >> reporter: this

police video shows the arrest of 40-year-old javier ambler in austin, texas, after a 22-minute chase in march of 2019. sheriff's deputies from nearby williamson county had tried to pull the driver over for failing to dim his headlights for oncoming traffic ambler later died at a hospital for years, investigators did not find any wrongdoing by police devastating ambler's family. >> i've cried a lot. i have cried a lot i love my son. >> reporter: nearly two years later, things began to change a new prosecutor took over the case. you are pushin hard at the system. >> absolutely. >> reporter: and you're going t continue to do that? >> absolutely. >> reporter: jose garza is a number of so-called progressive prosecutors, many newly elected, promising criminal justice reform an advocacy group counts as many as 70 in the country, many taking a new look at past allegations of

police misconduct, even reaching back decades. in los angeles, the county d.a. formed a committee to review hundreds of officer-involved shootings since 2012 unlike his predecessor, garza presented the ambler case to a grand jury it indicted two sheriff's deputies for manslaughter in a statement at the time their attorney said ambler's physical exertion in resisting arrest no doub contributed to his medical emergency appeared the deputies are neither morally or legally responsible for his death. grand juries handed down 11 indictments against law enforcement officers in garza's first year in office. >> we present every case where a law enforcement officer shoots or killed someone to a grand jury i believe that the people should decide. >> reporter: the police union in austin is furious with garza. you said that yo think he's targeting police officers? >> absolutely. we've had circumstances with him where our last district attorney reviewed cases and said there's nothing here, but he sees something. and somehow convinces

a grand jury to take it forward. >> reporter: he says garza has demoralized the department and his reforms contribute to a spike in violent crime. austin's homicide rate soared to record highs last year. do you worry about the pushback from the police department? >> no, i don't at the end of the day our community gets to decide what kind of criminal justice system they have. >> reporter: meanwhile the ambler famil approaching three years in march since their son's death remains unsure whether the criminal indictments truly are a step forward. do you think there will be a trial and accountability >> i hope so do i really think? it's like a coin flip. >> reporter: a family hoping a prosecutor with a new perspective finally brings them justice. ron allen, nbc news, austin. when we come back, the emotional surprise at a hit broadway show

there's good news tonight about finally achieving a dream, and having that moment celebrated by the people you love. it was a moment that stole the show >> when the lights went out on broadway, we were mourning and finding things to do emily decides to do something important, she went back to school and got her college degree. >> a mysterious announcement after the curtain call for the broadway music "come from away. and a total surprise for one of the stars, 34-year-old actress emily walton those tears of joy as everyone celebrated the new college graduate can you describe what it felt like in that moment? >> it felt completely overwhelming >> 14 years ago emily left college to pursue

acting. >> did you think, like, someday i have to go back >> i always had my eye on that prize, i just didn't know when. >> in 2018, she landed the role of a lifetime in "come from away" the tale of a small town in newfoundland, canada, that took in air passengers rerouted there when u.s. airspace shut down after the 9/11 attacks. >> i think at its root it's about basic human kindness >> emily says the show changed her. she felt supported by her castmates, and so when covid shut broadway down, she had the confidence to go back to school online. >> to have been doing this thing for the last couple of years privately, literally living in my parents' basement for a year of the pandemic, it was just this quiet personal thing that i was doing. >> but last weekend, her castmates wanted to celebrate her milestone in a big, public way they invited the president of southern new hampshire university to present her diploma and a cap and gown >> the tears started

to come down it was just a triumphant moment. it was an emotional moment. >> there are themes in the show about caring, kindness, generosity >> it's not a coincidence that that happened on that stage with those people. we all are so happy to celebrate each other >> what would you say to people who might be thinking of completing something they have always dreamed of finishing? >> just start slowly chipping away at it. it might take years, but the feeling you'll get when you've accomplished it is unlike anything else >> i confessed to emily that i am a super fan of that show if you can't make it to broadway, you can stream it. emily earned her degree in psychology but has no plans to leave acting any time soon i'm kate snow. for all of us here at nbc news, stay safe and have a great night.

everyone needs health insurance. covered california is making sure more people can get it. new federal funding of $3 billion is available to help more californians get covered. julie and bob are paying $700 less every month. dee now gets comprehensive coverage with no monthly premium. and the novarros are paying under $100 per month. check coveredca.com to see your new lower price. covered california. this way to health insurance. enrollment ends january 31st.

right now at 6:00, big changes on the horizon. we'll break down where you can take off your mask and the new places you'll need to show proof you're vaccinated. plus, marching to remember a san francisco grandfather killed in an unprovoked attack. calls for justice a year after his death. and gone without a trace. the desperate search for a young east bay woman who just graduated from nursing school. the news at 6:00 starts now. i'm audrey asistio. >> i'm terry m